Behind the Wall

– A Journey through China –

“… Ranging from the Burmese fontier to the Gobi Desert, from the Yellow Sea to the edge of Tibet, the book is a brilliant mosaic of scenes and encounters, written in a lyrical almost poetic, prose. A tour of a mental hospital in Shanghai, a night in Mao’s bed, a visit to a tongue doctor, an evening in a floating fun palace called The Sea Paradise – each moment of Thubron’s journey is illuminated by his eye for detail and his gift for communicating and listening to the ordinary people he meets.

Perceptive, intelligent and often very moving, Behind the Wall confirms Colin Thuborn’s reputation as one of the finest travel writer of our time.”